Wire fabric seam



Patented Dec. 24, 1935 122,025,491? A wma FABRIC ,sEAM

ouo A. AbeoarotmAoplosomwis. Appuoation ootobor 1, 1934, serial No. 746,407 3 claims. (ci. c45-1o) This invention appertains to wire cloths or wire fabrics of the type commonly used in making paper on Fourdrinier machines, and more particularly to a novel seam or means for joining 5 the ends of the fabric together to form the desired endless construction.

The formation of this seam in the endless paper machine Wires presents many difficulties, and I am aware of the fact that numerous attempts have been made to solve the problems at hand, and that many patents have been granted on seams for the Fourdrinier wires.

It is essential that the seams be mechanically strong, and at the same time not decrease the drainage through the cloth at this point. Also,

the seam must not possess bulk, or have any projections beyond the faces of the cloth. Otherwise, a line or mark will be made on the paper.

Originally it was proposed to unite the ends of the cloth by a lacing wire, and while this provided a strong joint, the same was bulky and did not possess the desired drainage. Also, the making of the seam was a tedious and lengthy operation. Later it was proposed to solder or weld the wire ends. This method possessed certain advantages, but in all of the patented constructions with which we are familiar, the soldered or welded seams are open to some or all of the objections outlined above. In most, the joints are Weak and will break if the screen is bent; in others the proper drainage is not provided; and in still others the paper will be marked.

It is therefore the primary object of my invention to provide novel means for joining the ends Aof the Warp wires of a cloth and solder the same together in such a manner that not only will a strong and durable joint be had, but one which will not mark the paper and will give the desired drainage.

40 Another salient object of my invention is to provide a screen in which the end weft or shot wires are removed and the projecting ends of the warp wires are arranged side by side in predetermined relation, and thereafter soldered or brazed together, the space between the adjacent warp and weft wires of the seam being at least equal to the spaces between the warp and weft wires in the body of the screen.

With these and other objects' in view, the in- 53 vention consists in the novel construction, ar-

rangement, and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically desired, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawinszf 55 Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view, on

an enlarged scale, of the one end of a length of wire fabric with the end shot or weft wire removed. l

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the seam, the end weft or shot wires being removed, and 5 the warp wires being disposed in overlapping side by side relation and soldered together.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the adjacent ends of an endless wire cloth, illustrating the novel seam, the view being 10 taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the 15 numerals 5 and 6 indicate the adjacent ends of a wire cloth prior to being connected. In accordance with my invention, I remove the end weft or shot wire thread of the wire screen end 5, and the end weft or shot wire of the screen 20 end 6. This leaves the projecting ends s and lo on the warp wires I I and I2 of the screen ends 5 and 6. As clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, the projecting ends 9 and I 0 of the warp wires II and I2 are arranged in overlapping side 25 by side relation, and by closely examining this figure it will be noted that like Warp Wires of the end sections 5 and 6 are arranged in close relation. This is done so that the curvature of the adjacent wire ends will be the same, and I prefer 30 to roll these ends to slightly flatten the same to o assure their proper relation.

After the ends of the warp wires are arranged as shown and described, the same are united by soldering, brazing, welding, or fusing. It is pre- 35 ferred to solder the ends together, and a novel method (which forms the subject matter of a separate application) is practised to effect the desired soldering operation. It is suiiicient to note, in the present case, that after the warp 40 wire ends 9 and Il) are placed in their side by side relation, liquid silver solder is applied thereto by means of a fine camels hair brush. Heat is then applied, preferably by means of a torch (1350). This gives a line of solder I3 between 45 and over the warp wire ends 9 and I0. Due .to the rolling or straightening out of the warpends 9 and I0 the solder I3 does not project beyond the opposite faces of the screen. By arranging the' ends of the warp wires in side by side rela- 50 tion, a strong and durable joint is had, in that the wires brace one another and cannot be readily pulled apart.

Obviously, the spaces formed in the seam are substantially equal to the spaces in the body of 55 the wire fabric. Hence, drainage at the seam is assured. Likewise. the seam is not a bulky one, in that the warp wires are disposed side by side instead of in longitudinal alinement, as heretofore proposed.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is;-

1. The method of producing a seam in a wire fabric, which comprises removing the end weft wire of each of the fabric parts to be Joined, placing the projecting ends of the warp wires in side-.by-side relation, and joining the si'des of the overlapping ends of the warp wires by solder.

2. The method of producing a seam in a wire f fabric which comprises removing the and weft wires of each of the fabric parts to be Joined. mns the projecting ends of the warp wires sideby-,side in overlapping relation with the warp wires outo! longitudinaly alinement, and soldering the sides of the overlapping ends of the warp 6 wires together, the solder being spaced equidlstantly from the adjacent weft wires of the fabric parts.

3,` A wire fabric comprising fabric parts, each having warp and weftl wires, kwithzvthe end weft 10 wires removed and having the warp ends disposed side-byside in overlapped relation and out of longitudinal Aalinement, and means connecting the sides of the overlapping ends together.

vO'JZ'IO A. AZBIINDl'tO'IH.k 

